New Jack
Jerome Young (born January 3, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, New Jack. He is known for his willingness to take dangerous bumps and his stiff, relentless, remorseless, hardcore wrestling style, usually incorporating weapons into his matches. He is also known for having his theme song in ECW (Natural Born Killaz by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre) play throughout his matches. Career Jerry Young claims he was a bounty hunter before he became a professional wrestler. He also claims to have committed four justifiable homicides in the line of duty. The only available evidence to these claims was stated by himself in interviews. It should also be noted that Atlanta police have no records of any of the homicides New Jack claims to have committed. Young trained under Ray Candy and debuted in 1993 in the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA), where he adopted the name New Jack. He went on to form a team, The Gangstas, with Mustafa Saed in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). The Gangstas took part in several controversial angles, on one occasion using affirmative action to enable them to win matches with a two count, not the conventional three count. They engaged in a long feud with the Rock 'N Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson). Extreme Championship Wrestling In 1995, The Gangstas left SMW and joined the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion. They won the ECW Tag Team Championships twice before Saed left the company in 1997. New Jack then formed The Gangstanators, a new tag team with former Eliminator John Kronus, going on to win a third ECW Tag Team Championship. New Jack was involved in the Mass Transit Incident on November 23, 1996 in Revere, Massachusetts. The Gangstas were scheduled to face D-Von Dudley and Axl Rotten. For whatever reason, Axl Rotten could not make it to the show (In the 2005 documentary Forever Hardcore, New Jack said he thinks something happened with Axl's grandmother, which forced Axl to not make it). Rotten was replaced with "Mass Transit" Eric Kulas, an untrained seventeen-year-old who convinced booker Paul Heyman that he was nineteen and had been trained by the veteran Killer Kowalski. In the course of the match, New Jack attempted to blade Kulas (at Kulas' request), but Kulas flinched causing New Jack to cut through an artery, causing him to begin bleeding profusely. Kulas was hospitalized as a result, eventually receiving fifty stitches. New Jack was charged with aggravated assault stemming from the incident, but was acquitted. Kulas subsequently sued New Jack and ECW for damages in July 1998, but lost the case. New Jack throughout the late-90s was in a bitter feud with Da Baldies and their leader The Spanish Angel over the subliminal title of "King of the Streets". The two battled back and forth over the matter in bloody street fights. One of ECW television's most gruesome moments is when in the course of a match, Angel used New Jack's staple gun (which he often wore around his neck with a chain) against him, stapling him in the eye. Referees called off the match, and New Jack disappeared from the air for several months. Amidst Angel's taunts of ending New Jack's career, New Jack would return by the end of 1999 with his eye seemingly recovered, now sporting a scythe around his neck, claiming that he's "upgraded" the staple gun. The first match he had against Angel since his return was a successful one, as he continued his feud against Da Baldies. In the video game ECW Anarchy Rulz, New Jack's theme song was specially made with unique lyrics, unlike every other character's theme, which consisted of sound-alikes of their real themes. The real theme, "Natural Born Killaz" (like everyone elses), could not be featured; copyright issues from their record labels wouldn't allow it. New Jack was featured in the 2000 wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. In addition, he appeared in the television series Early Edition on May 6, 2000 as a biker in the episode "Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter". He was also featured in the video game Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood. On March 13, 2000, New Jack (legitimately) suffered brain damage and was permanently blinded in his right eye when he and his opponent, Vic Grimes, fell off a 15 foot scaffold, missed the tables that were supposed to absorb the force of their fall, and landed on the concrete floor (with Grimes landing on New Jack's head) at ECW Living Dangerously 2000. In a rematch between the two in Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), New Jack threw Grimes off of a scaffold, with Grimes plummeting forty feet into the ring. The stunt did not work out as planned, as Grimes did not go through all twelve tables that were intended to break his fall and ended up dislocating his ankle on a rope. In the 2005 documentary Forever Hardcore, New Jack claimed that he had intentionally thrown Grimes too hard in the hopes that he would hit the ringpost and for Grimes to be injured or die. Also in the interview he blamed Grimes for his head trauma and blindness in his right eye for pulling away before the fall causing him to come down afterwards on his head instead of body to body. Independent Circuit After ECW declared bankruptcy in April 2001, New Jack began wrestling on the independent circuit. In 2002, he wrestled for XPW, and in 2003, he made multiple appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and also Combat Zone Wrestling, competing in Cage Of Death 5. New Jack appeared at the ECW reunion show, Hardcore Homecoming, on June 10, 2005, as well as competing on the "Exreme Reunion" tour from September 15-16. In 2006, New Jack reached an agreement with MTV to participate in their Wrestling Society X television series. He appeared in the Battle Royal to determine contenders for the WSX Championship, directing his focus on fellow ex-ECW alumni Chris Hamrick. In wrestling *'Finishing and signature moves :*[[professional wrestling throws#Death Valley driver|'Death Valley Driver']] :*Suicide Splash'' (Splash off of a high elevation, commonly through a table.) :*''187'' (Top rope elbow drop while holding a steel chair between his arm) :*Diving Headbutt :*''El Kabong'' (guitar shot) :*Airplane spin :*Various weapon shots Championships and accomplishments *'Extreme Championship Wrestling' :*3-time ECW Tag Team Champion (2-time with Mustafa Saed, 1-time with John Kronus) *'North Georgia Wrestling Association' :*1-time NGWA Heavyweight Champion :*1-time NGWA Tag Team Champion (with Mustafa Saed) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' :*PWI ranked him # 386 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003. *'Smoky Mountain Wrestling' :*1-time SMW Tag Team Champion (with Mustafa Saed) *'United States Wrestling Association' :*1-time USWA Tag Team Champion (with Home Boy) References *Weekly Planet's extensive story on New Jack's career External links *The official website of New Jack * Category:1963 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:People from Atlanta Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Smoky Mountain Wrestling alumni Category:Living people Category:African American professional wrestlers Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumni Category:Wrestling Society X alumni